Sen. Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, speaks on the Senate floor in Charleston, West Virginia, on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Law enforcement agencies across West Virginia would be required to inform federal immigration officials about every person they have identified as Immigrants without indefinite legal statussays a bill passed in the Senate on Monday.
Republican senators’ unanimous approval of the bill comes after federal judges recently found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials wrongfully detained several immigrant detainees in West Virginia.
Senator Patricia Rucker, a native of Venezuela, said the bill shows clear support for legal immigration and law enforcement carrying immigration responsibilities.
Rucker, R-Jefferson, noted that she is the only member of the Senate who is an immigrant.
“I came here to lawfully follow the law,” she said on the Senate floor. “Not once have I had any issues with law enforcement or questions that made me uncomfortable.”
She continued: “If we don’t enforce the rule of law, what we do in this chamber is a waste of time.”
Senate Bill 615 consists of only three low paragraphs and the bill is less than a page long.
The measure states: “If a person is determined by a law enforcement agency in this State to be in the United States illegally, the law enforcement agency shall notify and cooperate with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States Department of Homeland Security to the fullest extent permitted by federal and state law.”
The bill was passed 32-2 with both Democratic senators voting no.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said the bill’s lack of definition left him wondering how it would impact local law enforcement, immigrants and citizens across West Virginia.
He pointed to federal judges’ rulings dismissing immigration cases in West Virginia because people were detained was denied due process after their ICE arrests. The judges ordered that the immigrants involved in the cases be immediately removed from the state’s prisons where they were being held.
“At some of these hearings, when these immigration officers were asked what the probable cause and reason for their arrest was, they came forward and did not have the evidence. And this happens all the time,” Garcia said. “What can we do to help in this situation? We’re going to screw it up even more.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, said the bill is intended to ensure that West Virginia law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration policy as President Donald Trump cracks down on immigration.
“There’s a lot of chaos, disorder and lawlessness, refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And that’s just to say that West Virginia will undoubtedly be a law and order, safety and security state in the future,” Willis said.
In an interview after the measure’s passage, Willis said federal judges’ recent rulings on illegally detained immigrants in West Virginia were irrelevant to the bill.
“It does not encourage any violation of existing legal protections for those who have been detained or arrested,” he said.
Governor Patrick Morrisey has initiated prosecution the possibility of joining ICE’s 287(g) program enables Designated police officers question people about their immigration status as part of routine police operations.
ICE will compensate participating agencies for their participation, including paying the annual salary and benefits of each officer in the 287(g) program, MetroNews reported.
The state’s prisons are also receive money from the ICE partnership; They receive $90 per day for each ICE detainee.
More than 600 undocumented immigrants were arrested as a federal judge during ICE enforcement operations across West Virginia in behind schedule January started to investigate the legality of these arrests.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston spoke ordered the release of Frezgi Kelete Mehari, a citizen of Eritrea, from the South Central Regional Jail, that is overcrowded.
Johnston noted that Mehari, who entered the country unlawfully, had no criminal record or gang affiliations and had voluntarily participated in deportation negotiations.
“Plaintiff is entitled to a bail hearing … but has not received one despite being incarcerated since January 13, 2026. Such delay constitutes a violation of (Mehari’s) due process rights,” he wrote.
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